


First Date

by blutopaz15



Series: First Love [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Also I spoiled myself on TTM but I won’t spoil you!!, Art, Books, Comfort, Crying, Cute, Dorks in Love, F/M, Feelings!, First Dates, Fluff, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Library, Love, Pet Names, Rayllum, Rayllum Fluff, Reading, Romance, Sketches, Witty Banter, artist, big feelings time, hand holding, need to write happy Rayllum to stop being sad about TTM :(, pure fluff!!, shenanigans in katolis, so I wrote senseless fluff to soothe my aching heart, soft!Rayla, who needs a plot?, wrist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26339401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blutopaz15/pseuds/blutopaz15
Summary: A week after returning to Katolis, Callum takes Rayla on a tour of his favorite things. First date fluff with multiple chapters.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Rayllum - Relationship
Series: First Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904629
Comments: 18
Kudos: 103





	1. “Maybe we could...do an activity together?”

**Author's Note:**

> As senseless as this fluff is overall, I’m pretty proud of some of the banter I’ve written between these two precious angels! 
> 
> This is a part of my First Love series, which is mostly a bunch of one-shots exploring various Rayllum firsts. I ended up needing to break this one up, though, into multiple chapters to fit in all of the sweet, mushy love that I could imagine! I will update every couple days at least!
> 
> Please excuse my absolutely shameless ATLA references. I cannot help myself.
> 
> Enjoy!

Rayla, who had really just been dozing for the past ten minutes since hearing him begin to stir, felt the dip in the end of her mattress as Callum sat down. He clearly thought she was still sound asleep, so he very tentatively and gently placed a hand on her shin on top of the yellow quilt, trying not to startle her awake. She smiled to herself, her face buried in the sleeve of his pajamas that she been borrowing for the past week. He started rubbing his hand against her leg in an attempt to gently wake her.

“Good morning,” he said. She peeked open an eye, then rolled over onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. She rotated her still-stiff wrist a few extra turns.

”Hey,” she yawned. “What time is it?” Everyday since they’d arrived back in Katolis she’d slept in later and later, like her body was trying to catch up on all the sleep she missed while staying up to keep watch over the past few weeks. True, Callum had been the one to stay up some nights, but on those nights, she had still always been just barely asleep, still on high alert.

It helped that in the mornings, the light fell on Callum and Ez’s side of the room first and they even left the curtains closed for her. On her first day here, he had gotten her up early to show her around. Since then, Callum had gotten up each morning and went about his day, letting her sleep, and she didn’t see him until lunch, which had become her first meal of the day.

“Mmm...not that late. Just past nine, I think,” he responded. She groaned. She sat up in bed, and reached behind her head to smooth down her hair.

”I guess that sleeping til noon wasn’t going to work forever,” she sighed, throwing off her blanket.

”Sorry, I would’ve let you sleep,” Callum started, “but, I was wondering if maybe we could...do an activity together?” He seemed to be unable to look directly at her as he spoke. He fidgeted with his fingers, staring up at the ceiling.

”Do a what?” Rayla raised an eyebrow, smiling at him. She had an idea of what he meant.  
  
“Uh,” he stammered, still not making eye contact. She reached down to where he sat at the end of her bed and put her hand on his, stopping his fidgeting. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes incredulously. They’d confessed their love for each other, and _now_ he was nervous about hanging out? Not even that...nervous about _asking her_ to hang out? He looked at her, finding her staring at him encouragingly. His breath caught in his throat. “A date! Do you want to go on a date with me?” He immediately closed his eyes and looked away, cheeks pink. She could hardly stand how _cute_ and _dorky_ he was _._

”Why didn’t you just say so? Yes!” Rayla practically jumped in his lap, looping her arms around his neck, purposely over-enthusiastic. She kissed his cheek, then rested her forehead against his temple. “What are we going to do?”

”Wouldn’t you like to know?” He teased. “Let’s go get some breakfast first.” She untangled herself and they stood up. She reached for her clothes on her nightstand.

”You go on ahead. I’ll be there soon.” He placed a hand on her waist, and then they both leaned in for a short kiss before he departed.

Rayla looked unhappily at her pile of clothes as she discarded the pajamas. Now that things were settling down and she didn’t need to be ready for danger at a moments notice, she’d grown a little resentful of this being her only set of clothes. They’d been specially made for her first mission, perfectly fitted, practical, and protective. What did she need to protect herself against now? Everything had been so peaceful around the castle since they returned. She slipped her shirt over her head, then pulled up her leggings.

She decided to at least forego the armored pieces of her outfit. With no place to tuck them, this meant leaving her blades behind too. She placed her blades and her black pieces of armor on her nightstand and turned to look in the mirror. She fastened her belt a little higher than usual and pulled at her collar, pleased, at least, by its decorative swirls of lighter green. She scoffed at her appearance, wishing she had some piece of clothing that wasn’t solid teal to wear. Maybe something a little prettier too. She turned and looked at her bare shoulders in the mirror. This was a _date—_ their first real one—after all.

She looked sourly at her boots too, feeling the same disdain for their practicality. Seeing the canvas slippers someone had found for her on her first night here, she brightened a little and slid them on her bare feet. She looked in the mirror again with an attempt at a smile. She rolled her eyes at her own reflection and made for the door to go find breakfast.


	2. A True Katolian Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really enjoyed writing this chapter, so double posting for the first couple of chapters! Enjoy!

Callum was happy to find the dining hall empty. It was on the late side for breakfast, which he’d been counting on. He meandered to his normal corner of the room closest to the large window at the end of the large hall.  
  
“Is the plan still on this morning, Prince Callum?” The attendant began setting two places at the small table.

”Yep, thank you!” Callum dug in his bag to whip out a flower he’d swiped from the bushes outside. He’d been drawn to because, as he was planning to tell her, it matched the color of Rayla’s eyes.

Callum sat down, and drummed his fingers on the table staring at the door. His flower-picking detour hadn’t taken that long, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to be here yet. Logic didn’t matter though. He had spent the every morning this week planning today while Rayla slept in, and now he was impatient to show his love all of the things he’d planned, starting with a true Katolian breakfast. He wanted to show her all of his favorite things. After all, she’d gotten a chance to show him her favorite meadow, and the adoraburrs, and he’d almost even had her very favorite, moonberry surprise. He sighed, and twirled the lavender-colored flower around between his fingers.

Then, she appeared in the doorway, knowing to look for him in the exact spot where they’d eaten lunch for the past week. He grinned and stood, flower still in hand. “Rayla, you changed your clothes!” He said, immediately want to smack himself for saying something so obvious.

”Yeah, well,” she neared the table, one hand hooked on to her other elbow self consciously, “Hoping that I won’t need any armor on a date. What this?” She asked nodding to the flower Callum still held.

”Oh!” Callum exclaimed. “It’s, uh, for you!” Instead of handing it to her, he reached up and tucked the stem behind her ear. Her cheeks and the tip of her ear where his fingers had grazed burned red. “It...matches your eyes.” His fingers lingered on her cheek.

”Thanks,” she said more gently and softly than he’d ever heard her speak before. He stared for a moment before his _princely_ manners kicked in and he withdrew his hand, scurrying to her side to pull out her chair for her. 

”Rayla, my dear, you have yet to eat my favorite kind of Katolian food—breakfast!” His eyes shined excitedly, and he grinned. The attendant had brought out pitchers of juice, and returned several times again as they spoke, bearing small samples of all kinds of breakfast foods.

”’My dear’?” She quoted back to him, with a laugh. He picked up a pitcher of yellowish-orange liquid and poured a little in each of their glasses.

”What, you don’t like it?” 

”I don’t know Callum, I think you can do better,” she teased. “What’s this?” She asked.

”It’s just orange juice. I didn’t really expect _that_ to be new.”

”Oh. It’s not. We have oranges.” She took a sip. She scrunched up her face. “But they’re not this sour.” She reached for the other pitcher, smelled it to verify it was moonberry juice, and poured some into the orange juice.

”So, ‘dear’ is out. What else can I call you?”

”Um, _Rayla_ is fine.” She smiled into her orange-moonberry concoction.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, but we should definitely figure out pet names for each other today. Ok, _babe_?” He asked, with a wink. 

“...no.”

The attendant brought out what Callum recognized to be the last plate. “Anyway...we should start with the eggs before they get cold.” She reached for the ones that still looked egg-shaped. “Hard-boiled? Weird choice but alright.”

”What?”

”Nothing, it’s just that we have scrambled, scrambled with cheese, sunny-side up, and fried.” He pointed to each type of egg as he listed them. “Hard-boiled would definitely be my last choice.”

“...those are eggs?” She asked, pointing to the scrambled eggs. 

”With cheese.” He nodded. “My favorite.” 

“I’ve never had cheese before.” She didn’t look very sure, though she did seem to be enjoying herself.

”What??? You have to try it!” He said, shoving a huge fork-full into his mouth.

She scooped a little bit onto her fork and tasted them.   
  
“Ok, that is pretty good.” She ate another bite. “What’s next?”

”That depends. Bacon or sausage?” He pointed at the two plates.

”Uh, is it meat? I don’t eat a lot of meat.” She could tell that it was greasy too.

”Oh. I didn’t realize that. You don’t eat it at all?” Callum asked.

”No, I do sometimes. It’s just not a very common food back home.” She shrugged. “I’ll try a little. Which one is your favorite?” He smiled at her openness.

”Don’t feel like you have to.” He put his hand briefly on top of hers on the table. “But bacon is the best.” He picked up a piece and broke it in two, giving her the smaller bit. She took the tiniest bite.

”It’s so salty,” she said. “And...greasy?”

He mistook her comments for praise. “Right? Isn’t it the best?”

”No, no, no, this is the kind of food I mean when I make fun of human food,” she laughed. “If I ate all of that,” she gestured to the four remaining pieces, “I would be sick.”

”Ha! I could eat twice that much bacon!” He literally threw his head back when he laughed. He then picked up a second piece of bacon and ate it in one bite to emphasize the point. 

”Ew!” She exclaimed, laughing still. “Ok, ok,” she said, refocusing on the plates in front of them. She pointed to a round roll, covered in white icing. “What’s this?”

”Ohhh. A cinnamon roll! I think that one has raisins in it, and it has,” he dipped a finger in the icing and tasted it, “buttercream icing.”

“That sounds...decadent. Pass. Next?” She pointed to the next pastry.

”Donut. Fried dough, cream in the middle, chocolate on top. Can’t go wrong,” he said, attempting to tempt her.

”Fried? No.” She pointed to the next one. “That’s a jelly tart. They’re fine. What flavor?”

”Hmmm,” he looked more closely. “Raspberry? Top tier tart flavor.”

”We’ll come back to that. That’s a possibility.” She pointed at the next confection. “That’s à muffin. What kind?”

”Cranberry orange. It’s good. If you like moonberries, you’ll like that.”

”Ok, sold.” She used a knife to cut it in half and took one for herself. Callum took the other half. She took a bite. “Ok, yeah, that is pretty good.” She ate her entire half. “So, what are we doing today, on this _date_ anyway?“

”Well, _honey_ ,” he started. Her face fell into annoyance. “Ok, so not ‘honey’, got it...I’m going to take you on a tour!”

”Didn’t we do that a week ago? She pulled the flower from behind her ear and looked at it.

”Nah, this is the special, back-stage access tour of Callum’s favorite things!” He said emphatically.

“Starting with breakfast, yeah?” She tucked her pretty purple flower back behind her ear.

“Yup!”

”I’ll make you a deal. I will try one more thing on this table. You get to pick.”

”What’s the catch?”

”No catch. You clearly spent a lot of time and effort on this so, let’s make it worthwhile.” She smiled and moved her foot beneath the table to nudge his shin lovingly.

A finger across his chin, he looked at the selections in front of them. “Aha! Breakfast potatoes! You’ll like those!” She’d expected to have to suffer through some disgustingly sweet dessert, but instead he picked the most likable food on the table. He scooped a little from the main plate onto each of their plates. “They’re a little spicy,” he warned and then dug in. She stabbed one potato with her fork to try. 

“Those are good,” she breathed out, before eating a few more. Then, she was hit by the spices harder than she expected and gulped down her juice. “Yeah, spicy, though. Let me add that to my repertoire: humans like to torture themselves by eating food that burns!” She coughed a little, either from the spice or the juice, she wasn’t sure which.   
  
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” He laughed and poured more moonberry juice into her cup when she held it out with a glare. “Are you ready to go?” He asked. She set down her glass, now empty again and laid out a napkin. In it, she piled a few jelly tarts.

”For the road,” she said. He smiled: it was sweet that she thought to bring snacks along. “I...don’t have anything to carry them in though. Can you...?” She handed him the little package and he put it in his bag. 

“Of course, _darling_.” She rolled her eyes and stood up.

”They’re getting slightly better,” she said as she walked to the door, Callum scrambling to follow close behind.

”Rayla, wait up! You don’t even know what’s next!” He called. She paused to lean a shoulder against the wall just outside the dining hall.

”Lead the way then, sweet prince.” His eyes immediately brightened, realizing she was playing along with his silly quest for pet names.

”Hey, was that—“

”Yeah, but I regret saying it. Too embarrassing for daily use.” She shrugged, and he leaned up slightly to kiss her cheek.

”I kinda liked it.” He pulled away, goofily grinning and took her hand to pull her along to their next destination.


	3. ...at the library!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun story. I wrote all of this at the same time that I wrote the first two chapters. Then, because I’m dumb, I accidentally deleted it and couldn’t get it back. Soooooo...I remembered most of what I wrote. Some of it is probably better than the first draft, some of it probably worse. Oh well. 
> 
> My favorite thing in this chapter is probably my Timothy Ventura invention. Maybe I’ll write some spin-off fanfic sometime? Who knows? Enjoy!

As they strolled toward their next destination, holding hands, Callum rubbed his thumb against Rayla’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. He raised their intertwined fingers to look at them.

”I never really realize how _tiny_ your hands are compared to mine.” He reclasped his hand around her palm, emphasizing his point. His hand engulfed hers, her pale fingers barely peeking out from his. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the base of her thumb. “Cute,” he commented.

Rayla blushed, taken aback for the second time already this morning at his unabashed compliments and flirtations. It felt odd to have someone paying attention to things like the color of her eyes and complimenting her hands, of all things.

”What?” He asked, noticing her shy smile. She had reached up to took the purple flower behind her ear again.

”You’re just...so _sweet_ to me. For no reason.” She mimicked his kiss, placing a kiss on the back of his hand.

”Well, there _is_ a reason.” He swung their hands back down between them. He turned to grin at her. “I _love_ you.” He then looked away, up at the doorway they were approaching.

”I love you too...even if you are a huge dork who’s brought me to the _library_ on a _date_.” She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She stop in the door way.

”Oh, c’mon! I even picked out books especially for you!” He continued on, yanking her along by both hands now, grinning.

”Ow!” She exclaimed, snatching the hand attached her bad wrist away from his grasp. She cradled her wrist in her other hand and turned back into the hall and groaned to keep from cursing. Callum’s face had dropped into a serious frown as he turned back to her. He held out his hands, hoping to comfort her pained wrist, and was surprised at how willingly she let him touch it. 

“Rayla, I am so, so sorry.” He ran his thumb along the spot where the binding had clearly been and brought her wrist up to his lips to kiss. The bruise had still not faded all the way, leaving a yellow tint to her wrist.

“It’s alright. You didn’t do it on purpose.” She hissed a little when he pressed down on the bruised area experimentally. “But that you did. Ow!” She still didn’t withdraw her hand.

“Sorry, I just...didn’t realize how bad this was. It’s always been covered up under your wrist guards.” He kissed it again. 

“Yeah, it was pretty black and blue under there for a long time.” She said, watching his fingers lovingly run over the fading bruise over and over. “It doesn’t matter. It only hurts if I use it too much now.”

”Or if someone yanks on it, apparently.” He returned her wrist to her with one final caress, clearly still unhappy with himself. 

”Oh, c’mon, sad prince. I already said it was fine.” She raised a hand to his chin, forcing his eyes to meet hers. He returned her smile after a moment. She took his hand with her good one and led him back through the doorway to the library. As they passed through the threshold, Callum let go of her hand and walked excitedly around a corner to a quiet, deserted alcove. He looked proudly at the small stack of books he’d assembled. One large leather-bound tome, a beat-up old novel, and a smaller leather-bound book. She reached for the little one at the top of the stack.

”Mmmm, hang on.” He picked up the stack and put them back down one at a time, in the opposite order that they’d been in. He tapped the large book. “This one first.”

” _Tales of Old Xadia,”_ she squinted to read the title imprinted in the cover. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he was fidgeting and looking excited. “Alright, you must have reasons for picking these. Out with it.”

He started quickly, rambling. “That one is a bunch of really, really old fairy tales from before the pentarchy...when human and elves still lived together. I don’t know if you’d know any of the stories, but I thought you could read them and tell me which ones you’ve heard of.“ He smiled, and handed her the next book. “Ok, I’m a little bit embarrassed about this one in hindsight.”

” _Timothy Ventura and the Midnight Ship,”_ she read.

“One my favorites from when I was a kid, like Ez’s age. He sails west from Del Bar and ends up on the other side of—“

”Xadia? I’m sensing a theme here.” She smiled, and flipped the book over. “Well, I don’t see what’s so bad about that. Wait.” She stopped speaking to read the back. Callum turned away to fidget with an open book that’d been left out, anticipating his embarrassment. “He marries a—“

”...yeah.” He interrupted, in hopes that maybe she wouldn’t finish her sentence out loud. 

”Moonshadow elf?” She laughed out loud. Someone across the library shushed her, so she whispered: “Well, you’re just living out your wildest dreams now, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea, _sweetie_.” He snaked an arm around her waist, as she rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. Then, he handed her the last book.

”Is this...a Moonshadow recipe book? Callum...you better not have...” She glared, her eyes narrowing.

”Ruined the ‘surprise’?” He paused. “Yeah, no, I did.” He put his hands up defensively, and shrugged. “But, I think you’ll agree that it’ll be worth it.” 

”Did...did you make Moonberry Surprise for me?” She asked softly, again struck by his thoughtfulness.

”Not yet,” he clarified. “A few ingredients are still on their way—oof.” He was interrupted by her arms thrown roughly around his neck, as she’d practically leapt into his arms. He caught her around the waist, and leaned back a little to catch her before her feet came back down to the ground. To his pleasure, she didn’t let go right away. She stayed wrapped in his arms, whispering “thank you” in his ear. He turned his face to bury his nose in her hair and let a hand roam up her back to the nape of her neck.

After a few solid breaths in each other’s arms, she started to pull away. “I’m sure there’ll be time for that later.” She smiled and winked as she pulled away. 

“Do you want to go put these in the room?”

”I meant, _later_ later, Callum,” she smirked at him. She’d known what he meant, but it was fun to say things to make him blush.

”No, no,” he stuttered, pink as she’d predicted. “We just have more stuff to do today and I don’t know if you want to lug around a bunch of books all over the place—“

“I _know_ , dummy. I’m just teasing. Heh, hows that for a pet name?” She gathered up the books in her arms and started for the door. “Are you coming?” He followed close behind.


	4. Sweetheart

“So, how much more is on this itinerary of yours?” She asked, closing the door behind her, having haphazardly thrown the books onto her bed.   
  
“Oh, way more!” He said. “Actually...do you maybe want to bring your pajamas?” 

“What? Why?”

”We may or may not be going camping later,” he looked up at the ceiling, rolling his eyes around mischievously.

”Callum.”

”Yes, cupcake?”

She paused to glare. “We’ve been camping for the last _month_.”

”Yeah, but this will be FUN camping! With a tent and a campfire and we’ll be alone...with one blanket.” His enthusiasm shifted to flirtation.

”Ah. In that case...” She slipped back in the room and re-emerged moments later, closing a bag that appeared to contain pajamas and _Timothy Ventura_. “So, is that where we’re going now?” She asked, sounding innocent enough, despite where her mind was wandering. She fastened the closure of the bag.

”Whoa, whoa, whoa. Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you? I meant _later_ later.” He teased, echoing her from the library. He stepped closer to her, and before he could manage to plant a kiss on her lips, she had him by the collar with a smirk and had beaten him to the punch. “Mmm!” He exclaimed. She released him after a moment, and he quickly sank to the ground, back against the wall, looking starstruck.

“Nope, not ahead of anything, I don’t think.” She smirked as she turned to shut the door. “Now, then, which way?”   
  
He tugged at his collar, straightening it, then pointed towards the end of the hall. “We’re going into town,” he mumbled, getting to his feet again when she offered a hand to pull him up.

”Ok, lead the way.” She linked her arm in his instead of leaving their hands locked like usual. He paused to kiss her cheek before starting down toward the outer door. “So, town, huh? You know, after today, I _definitely_ have some new Human Rayla catchphrases to try out.”

”You don’t need to do that,” he said.   
  
“Are you sure I’ll be...welcome?”  
  
“Does it matter? You’ll be with me.” He squeezed her forearm where they were connected. 

“Uh, yeah, it matters. I don’t want everyone staring at me, or _worse_.”

”I mean, people might look at you because you’re shopping with the _prince of Katolis_ , but they’d do that even if you were human.” He added a lilt of snobby affect to his tone. She rolled her eyes. ”Tell you what, let’s just try. If you’re uncomfortable, you can use my scarf.” He unwound it from his neck and draped it around hers. 

”Fine. But only because I think it’s good luck.” She sniffed. “And because you’ve finally washed it.” She finished wrapping it around her neck without unlocking their elbows. The guards at the outer door opened it for them as they approached. They started the long path out towards the outer gate. 

“So, let’s see, so far, we’ve tried dear, babe, honey, sweetie, cupcake—“

“You forgot darling.”

”Oh, right, yeah. What else?” He thought a moment. “What do you call people in a relationship?”

”Uh, I don’t know. What do you?”

”Most people would call me your boyfriend, but that doesn’t feel quite...right. And it’s not like I’m going to lovingly refer to you as _girlfriend_. It’s more like a label, not a pet name.”

”Oh, I don’t know. If we were older, people might call us lovers, but...” she trailed off, blushing at what the term implied. “I don’t know, sweethearts, maybe?”

”I like that...” He exclaimed. “... _sweetheart_.”

”Ok, I have to admit, that is nice.” She rested her head down against his shoulder for a moment as they walked. When she looked back up, aware of their surroundings again, she looked straight at someone who was very clearly gaping at her horns. She looked away quickly, expression downcast. “People are definitely looking at me. Not us. Me.” Callum stopped their progress and pulled at his scarf around her neck, frowning a little.

”Here, if you’ll be more comfortable.” He found the center of the scarf, and let it float gently down to drape over her horns, shielding them and her ears from view. Then, he arranged the rest of the scarf around her neck, kissing her cheek when he was done, hoping to cure her sour expression. 

“For the record, I love your horns.” He kissed her forehead. “...and your ears, and your eyes.” He kissed one temple and then the other. “...and your markings.” He kissed each of them. She started to smile. “...and your hands.” He brought them up to his lips to kiss. “...and everything about you.” He gave her brief, chaste kiss on her lips.

”Get a room!” Both of their heads whipped around in anger. Relief washed over them when they realized it was just Soren, traipsing by with a wave. Rayla still glared at the back of his head as he continued on without a care. 

Callum squeezed her hands, which he still held. “C’mon, there are a couple of shops I want to show you before we go set up camp.”


	5. In Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up until this point, I had written everything out ahead of time, so it took me a bit to get this chapter written...especially because it took me a while to think of kite flying as a cute date activity that even lets Callum do mage things!
> 
> More soon!

As Callum pushed open the door to the shop, a little bell rang. He let Rayla walk ahead of him. “More books?” She asked.

”Better. Sketchbooks. And, you know, pencils and paper and all of that. It’s a craft store.” He held out his arms, gesturing all around, before letting her guide their path.

She wandered over to the stacks of leather bound books, all with differently decorated covers, and traced the purple, flowered pattern on one of them.

”I get a new sketchbook a couple of times every year, and this is always where I get them from.” He walked to the other side of the display, letting his fingers drift over over top of the books.

She picked up the deep purple book and thumbed through the pages. His face lit up, noticing the one she was toying with and he held out his hand. She handed it to him, frowning in concern when he tucked it under his arm.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, reaching toward the book now under his arm. He held up a hand.

”Think of it as an early birthday present if you have to.” He reached his hand out a little further to grab hers from underneath, then pulled her knuckles up to his lips.

Before she could protest further, he disappeared to go pay at the counter, grabbing her a few pencils on the way. Smiling to herself, she turned and looked at the stacks of different kinds of paper.

“Ready, love?” He asked, realizing after the fact that he’d presented another pet name choice. She beamed, pleased by its simplicity.

”If you are...love.” He paused and smiled back, pulling her close by the waist as they left the small shop, paper bag in tow.

”What are you going to put in it?” He asked as he guided her to their next destination. She tucked her arm under his shoulder, reciprocating the walking embrace.  
  
“Oh, you know, hopes, dreams, deep dark secrets,” she started sarcastically. “I don’t know, really. But there’s just a lot of...stuff...on my mind. So maybe writing some of it down will help.” Her face had fallen as she spoke and her eye brows had knitted together across her forehead, adding to her pained expression. 

“Do you...want to talk about it?” His fingers pressed into her side comfortingly.

”Maybe later,” she mumbled. He ran his thumb up and down against her side, his habit when they were entangled in this way. “That tickles.” She smiled a little.

“Oh, uh, sorry!” He stopped the motion. “You’ve never said that before.”

“What? That I’m ticklish? Is that so surprising?”

“No, no, it’s not. But I am glad that I know that now,” he smiled mischievously. He pressed his fingers into her side, emphasizing the point. She leapt away.

“Nuh-uh. No way.” She shook her head and crossed her arms defensively. “I swear, I’ll go back to the castle right now and put my armor back on—“

”Ok, ok!” He approached slowly, placing both hands on her waist. “ _This_ is too...nice for you to have to do that,” he said, drawing her in a bit closer. He wouldn’t be so bold as to say it, but it was nice to be able to feel the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her clothes rather than just touching stiff material. 

She softened a bit and unwittingly echoed his thoughts. “Your hands are so...warm.” She said, placing hers on his shoulders. Like magnets, they drifted closer together. They both lingered, lips inches apart, enjoying the delicious tension of being so close together. Hearts full nearly to bursting, neither could quite steady their breathing.

“Kiss me.” She finally said, and he did, inhaling sharply before leaning up to press his lips gently against hers. She moved her hands to his cheeks, intent on holding him there and was disappointed when he began to pull away after only a moment.

”We...we should keep walking,” he whispered, eyes still closed, forehead against hers. “I don’t know if the middle of town is the place...” He chuckled.

Her sigh that escaped as they pulled apart read as impatience. “Ok, ok, fine.”

”Plus, we have more to do!” He reached for her hand. “Have you ever flown a kite before?” He grinned.

“Uh, no. And I can’t say that I even know what that is, honestly.”

”It’ll be fun!” He pointed up ahead. Looking down the brick path a ways, they could see the green expanse of a park, spotted with trees.

* * *

At this point, Rayla had spent nearly an hour sitting in the grass, absentmindedly fidgeting with a small stone she’d found nearby, watching Callum run back and forth across the park, kite in hand. 

Every few minutes, he’d pause and look at her to say some variation of “I think that wind is picking up!” Then, off he’d go, running back and forth, trying to get the kite up into the air. Part way through his string of failed attempts, she’d offered to give it a try. She’d glanced up at the nearby trees a few times and considered how she could use them to get this contraption higher in the air. Callum had _insisted_ thathe could get it.

”Hey, Callum?” She called as he finished his rightward-bound lap across the park.

”Huh?” He huffed, out of breath. He walked towards her spot on the grass, holding the red kite in front of him.

”Isn’t there some kind of sky-mage-something-or-other you could do here?” She raised an eyebrow as she spoke. He stopped dead in his tracks, then slapped himself in the forehead and collapsed backwards into the grass across from her. She scooted closer and laid down next to him. “So...is that a yes or a no?” She elbowed him teasingly.

”...yes,” he sighed. He sprung to his feet, and she pushed herself up to sit up and watch his next attempt. “Actually, this probably would be easier if you helped.”

”I thought you’d never ask,” she said, glad to get up and stretch her legs. She’d been lazy this past week since coming back to Katolis. “What’s the plan?” 

“If you run like I was, with the kite behind you, then I can use Aspiro to push it higher up, so that maybe it’ll catch the wind.” 

“Ok, ready?” She leaned over to get ready to run.

”Go!” He called. She started running across towards the left side of the field, holding up the kite slightly behind her as she sprinted. From behind her, she heard the spell, then felt the wind rushing behind her, pushing the kite up towards the sky. She felt the kite tug upward at the line, so she slowed to a walk, turning to look up at it. Callum bounded up next to her. 

“What now?” She asked.

”Well, we can let out the line some,” he said. He put his hands over hers on the spool, showing her how. “See?” He stepped back and let her try. 

He marveled at the small, gentle smile that’d been on her face for most of the day. It was so nice to see her feeling relaxed and happy, even if he knew that there was still a lot of difficult stuff to deal with. He didn’t want to ruin their date talking about all of it though, if she didn’t want to. They’d barely talked about the Storm Spire, let alone Viren. Plus, he knew she must still be distraught over her family. His gaze shifted from love to concern. Lost in thought, he was startled to see concern in her eyes as well when she looked back at him.   
  
“Uh, Callum...I think I let it out too much,” she said, with that concerned expression.   
  
”Why? What’s wrong?” He asked, snapping out of his thoughts, now attentive to the kite and it’s line. 

”Uh, hello? It’s in a tree,” she gestured wildly at the tree across the the way, and rolled her eyes, as he realized the situation. “Here, hold this,” she said. Then she sprinted away, towards the tree. Bladeless, she jumped from the ground to land a foot on the tree trunk, propelling herself up to the first big, thick limb of the tree. “This is more difficult than I remember without my blades,” she called down, working on a path up to the next limb.

”You don’t have to get it, Rayla. We can just pay for it,” he responded, but she’d already leapt up to now the third limb. “Or not,” he muttered quietly. He craned his neck upward to see her emerge near the top of the tree, kite in hand.

”Should I just drop it?” She yelled down.

”Yeah, but try to toss it away from the tree in case it catches the wind again,” he shouted back. She released the kite and it floated down easily. Callum ignored it, though, and instead focused on his somewhat irrational worry over Rayla getting down from the top of the tree. His worry was short-lived, as she swung down from one limb to another. She landed with a roll on the grass.

“That was fun,” she said, then laid back in the grass near where she landed. She held her hands up above her head, in front of her face. “Tore up my hands a bit, though.” Callum made his way over to lay by her. He put his head down next to hers, legs pointed in the opposite direction. 

“Let me see,” he asked. She held her hands up again, and he snagged one, a little red, with a few spots of blood from some scratches, and kissed her palm.

“Is it time to camp yet?” She asked.

”I thought you were sick of camping?” He smiled and looked at her. Her eyes were still pointed up towards the tops of the trees.

”Mmm, I am, but I’m _not_ sick of spending time with you...,” she said, looking back at him now. “...and our one blanket.” She looked back up at the sky, color spreading across her cheeks. He scooted closer and kissed her now-pink cheek.

”It’ll be nice to just...be close to each other all night.” He said, with a lovesick sigh.

”I feel so much better when you’re nearby, Callum. Just...comfortable. And safe.“ She was looking at him again. She extended a hand up above her head in the grass. He matched her, taking her hand. “I love you.”

”Love you, too,” responded, turning to kiss her cheek again.


	6. Sketches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. Lots of feelings here, friends. I might go back and write a one-shot about the immediate aftermath of the Storm Spire, but I’m headcanoning that this would be the first time they really talk about it all after the fact.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be nothing but good ol’ fluff and smooching! Can’t wait! 
> 
> Enjoy!

“I’m not usually one to complain about walking,” Rayla started, “but how much farther could it possibly be?” The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky, and the heat of the day was starting to fade. They’d been picking their way through the forest, en route to Callum’s self-proclaimed “fun” campsite since a little after midday, snacking on jelly tarts.

“Just a little ways up ahead,” he said, squinting up ahead due to the glare of the sun in their eyes.

”Well, I sure hope it’s worth it,” she said. “And that you told everyone not to expect us back first thing in the morning. It’ll take us a good two hours to get back to the castle from all the way out here.” 

”Hour and a half,” Callum commented offhandedly.

”What, did you time yourself or something?” She gave him a sideways glance. 

”I mean, I’ve been back and forth like one, two, three times this week.” He counted in his fingers as he spoke.   
  
“That seems...excessive.” She raised an eyebrow.

”Well, I had to find a good spot, and then bring all of the supplies out, and then yesterday I came out here with Soren and we set everything up—“ Callum appeared to be checking off the list of tasks in his head. 

”What do you mean, everything?” Rayla asked, catching his eye with her confused expression. He grinned and stopped walking.

”Well, you’ll know the answer to that very shortly, but first...” He stepped over to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You’ll have to close your eyes.” She smiled obligingly, and did so, reaching out her hands in front of her, expecting him to lead her forward. “No peeking!”

”I won’t, I won’t!” She conceded. He took her hand and gently pulled her around the corner into the clearing. He’d been up with the sun yesterday in order to have enough time to set up and get back before missing lunch with her. He glanced around to be sure nothing was out of place. “Can I open them yet?” She asked, eyes still sealed shut. He turned back to her and kissed her briefly.

”Go ahead,” he breathed, mouth still inches from hers. He turned to stand beside her while she looked at his creation.

”What...what are all of these?” She looked around to see a circle of easels all with different images, clearly sketched by Callum’s own hand. She walked closer to one, to see an picture of herself sitting in the bottom of their little rowboat, smiling weakly. She turned to look at him for an answer, finding his face red.

”Drawings of you—er, us,” he explained. “Some of them I drew while we were travelling, but a lot of them I’ve drawn since we’ve been back. That’s what I’ve been doing while you’ve been sleeping in. Well, that, and planning today.” His hand had crept up to the back of his neck, which he rubbed nervously, struggling to make eye contact while the color spread down his neck. “You probably think it’s weird, don’t you? Rayla, I’m sorry, I—“

Her fingers found his lips, stopping his rambling. “Let me look at all of them,” she said, very seriously. Her breath had caught in her chest again at this gesture of—she didn’t know what to call it—love? Sweetness? Devotion? Her fingers fell from his lips to grab a hand, pulling him along with her as she toured the sketches in the circle. 

”They—they’re in order,” he pulled back on their joined hands a bit, leading her towards the easel to the left of the first one she’d examined.

The paper had multiple renderings of her face, one framed by her blades with a fierce expression, one rolling her eyes, and one...happy? Hopeful? “I understand these two, but what’s this?” She said, pointing to the mystery expression. 

“Your face when we found Zym’s egg.” She hadn’t turned around to look at him while he answered, but he smiled at the thought anyway. She tugged him along to look at the one on the boat again. “That was when—“

”You started asking me questions,” she interrupted, and turned to look at him. Her eyes were watery.

”Rayla, are you going to—“ He squeezed her hand, blinking at her tears in concern. Callum hoped they were happy tears, at least.

”Don’t worry about it,” she turned back around, wiping at her face with the back of her hand, and pulled him to the next picture. “My wrist,” she commented, seeing the subject of his next sketch.

“The next one is...happier,” he said, trying to cheer her up a little. turning his attention to the picture of newly-hatched Zym and a newly-unbound Rayla. 

“I love that,” she said, touching the page fondly. He felt his heart swell up with pride.

She wandered to the next picture, finding it to be of herself standing at the Moon Nexus.

”I kinda of want to add color to that one,” he commented. She traced a finger around the half-moon sketched into the background before turning her attention to the first sketch that featured both of them.

”What’s this one?” She asked.

”Oh, ya know, the hug you gave me after I tried to get struck by lightning,” he shrugged. “The next one is similar,” he added, pointing to the sketch of them on their knees, embracing.

”You know, I wanted to tell you then,” she said. Her gaze had been focused solely on the sketches, and it was no different for this one. Callum trailed the hand that held hers up her arm to touch her shoulder. She looked at him when he did, and wiped at her eyes, even more wet with tears than before. He immediately brought his other hand to her shoulder.

”Rayla, I didn’t think this would make you upset,” he said, so gently. 

“No, I’m not _sad_ ,” she said, lowering her head. Callum caught a tear that fell from her eye with his thumb. “Can we finish looking at them?” 

“Rayla, you’re _crying_. I don’t—“

”Just, let’s look,” she insisted. “And then, I promise, we’ll have ‘big feelings time’ or whatever.” She rolled her eyes, and smiled at finding something to tease him over.

She pulled him towards the next picture, then turned to beam at him, seeing a picture of her with his scarf around her neck. “Ok, _this_ is my favorite.” She reached up, realizing she still had the scarf around her neck from when she’d been hiding her horns in town.

She pulled him to the next one, which was just a sketch of the runes that lit up the ground to get into the Silvergrove. She traced the circle they formed fondly, then moved on wordlessly. 

“I may have gotten a little carried away with this one,” he said, indicating toward the paper that was littered top to bottom with sketches of their kisses. 

”You think?” She asked, smiling again. She hit him lightly in the chest with her free hand. “Last one?” She turned to the final easel in the circle.

It was a sketch of her, similar to the one at the Moon Nexus. Instead, she sat at the edge of the Storm Spire, the sun huge and covered by clouds. Tears sprang to her eyes again, but knowing she’d seen all of the pictures at this point, she didn’t resist any longer. She turned to Callum, and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the fabric of his jacket. Her shoulders shook while she cried.

“Oh, Rayla, I’m so—“ He rubbed a small circle with his hand against her shoulder blade.

”Don’t be sorry, you idiot,” she practically shouted against his chest through her tears. He chuckled.

”Uh, ok.” He continued to comfort her while she cried, remarking to himself that this was a long way from the Midnight Desert. She hadn’t even wanted him to hear her quiet sobs then, and now she was clinging to him while she cried openly. After a while, she had quieted some. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked hopefully, still feeling bad for setting off all of her tears.

”I guess I did say that I would, didn’t I?” She laughed a little as she tried to catch her breath. She put her hands on his shoulders to push him away a little to look at him. “Callum, I just—I’m so afraid to lose you. I don’t know what I would do if...” She trailed off, brought nearly to tears again. 

“Rayla, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.” He brought his hand to her waist. His reassuring smile faded as he spoke, replaced with a heavy, contemplative expression. “I’m the one who should be scared here. I almost—did lose you.” She brought a hand to his cheek.

“That’s the other thing, Callum. You shouldn’t have—“ She stopped herself. “I mean, it scares me that you saved me.”

”Why? Haven’t you saved me a million times in the past month?” He reached up to hold the hand that had been caressing his face.

”...I guess, but, Callum,” she choked out, “the odds are normally in my favor. You didn’t even know if you could do—anything—and yet you still...” She couldn’t keep speaking. Another tear leaked out.

”Rayla, I couldn’t just...let you go when I knew there was a chance.” He pulled her closer into a tight embrace. “I _love_ you. How could I let you?”

“I love you too, Callum.” She let her fingers run through the hair at the back of his head. They held each other like that, his arms squeezed tight around her middle, her hands stroking the back of his head. “I admit it,” she started after a while, “‘big feelings time’ did make me feel better.”

”Told you,” he responded quietly, close to her ear. “Do you want to see the tent?” He asked quietly, still holding her tightly. 

“Depends.” She answered. “Do we have to let go?” He laughed.

”Mmm, only a little.” They pulled away from their hug, a little damp from sweat and tears. He immediately captured a hand to hold tightly. “Oh, man, it’s getting late,” he said, noticing the darkening sky. 

He pulled her over to the other side of the clearing to the little tent that he’d set up.

”This is definitely an improvement on camping,” she said, looking inside at the the pillows and sleeping bags and blankets that were stacked high inside the tan-colored tent. “But I do see more than one blanket,” she smiled, teasing in hopes of lightening the heaviness of all the enormous emotions they’d just dealt with.

”Well, then, we can _share_ all of them,” he smirked back and (maybe risking his life, he thought) suddenly pulled her closer, let go of her hand and purposely tickled her sides. She squeaked, laughing, and jumped away.   
  
“Well not if you’re going to do that all night!” She exclaimed. She walked back over, taking both of his hands with a warning smile, before leaning in to kiss him briefly. His lips attempted to follow hers when she pulled away. “We should get a fire going before dark, don’t you think?” 

His eyes were still narrowed, focused only on her lips. She’d released her grasp on his hands, and he brought them up to her cup her face. Her eyes narrowed again to match his before closing, ready for another kiss. He leaned back up and kissed her again, breathing in as he did so. She let out a small noise against his mouth when he attempted to get their tongues involved and tapped his shoulder. 

“Come on, lover boy. Fire now, making out later.” She smiled, and he groaned. She turned toward the camp fire, already mostly built.

”Ok, ok, fine.” He followed her and they both began gathering brush and small twigs hurriedly, excited to get to the best part of their date.


	7. Warmth

Callum had insisted on being to one to get the fire going, so Rayla had reclined back against the felled tree that separated the campfire from the tent, bottom in the dirt. She smiled watching his fight with the fire, which he had barely gotten to smoke at this point. He was up and down, surveying his progress one moment, then down on his hands and knees poking at and blowing on the brush they’d gathered. She shifted to lay across the top of the log on her stomach, around When night had fallen, growing impatient.

She been tugging on her hair as she watched him, absentmindedly braiding the strands that framed her face. Every time he bent over in front of the fire, she smirked at the overdramatic, silly position that he took and at his behind stuck in the air. She watched him repeat the pattern over again, having abandoned her braiding to pick up a pebble. The next time he leaned over, she took aim, hitting him squarely and easily in the right buttock. He yelped and turned to look at her, a hand over the spot she’d hit, mock-hurt in his eyes, still kneeling by the fire.

“Ow, what was that for?” He asked, pouting ridiculously.

”Can’t expect me to just ignore your showing off,” she shrugged with a smile, wondering if he’d be embarrassed or flirt back. She looked at the treetops as she spoke, feigning disinterest. His eyes narrowed, and he returned her smile with a smirk. 

“Oh, and you’re just so innocent?” He said, nodding meaningfully at her own position. Far less ridiculous than his behind in the air, he couldn’t ignore the the attractiveness of the way she was laying on her belly, ankles crossed and up in the air. The curve of her lower back was more pronounced like this, and his eyes lingered, straying further down, before he looked back to the fire shyly. His gaze had shifted the tone of their evening away from lighthearted teasing. Deeper desires, yet unspoken, lingered under the surface of their noticing of each other’s bodies. He stood and poked at the fire, which seemed to be fairing well enough on its own now, in silence for a few moments, before turning back around to face her.

He began to approach her and her stomach did a little flip in reaction to the firelight reflecting in his eyes. He noticed that her blush was made more obvious by the growing firelight. She sat up, and he came closer. He knelt back down in front of her on both knees, reaching out to hold her hands, which rested on top of her legs.

”Hey,” he said quietly. He was actually a little taller than her like this, he thought with a private smile.

”Hey,” she responded, looking down at their clasped hands. 

“Is it later yet?” He asked, moving closer to her. She inhaled audibly, a little shakily. 

“I guess it is,” she whispered. “Are you going to kiss me?” She said, eyes fixated on his lips, knowing the answer. The anticipation was addicting. She breathed in, pleased to be sharing the air in the space between them with him. 

”Oh, is that what we’re supposed to be doing?” He joked, but she barely reacted, just lessened the distance between them. He closed his eyes and eliminated the distance all together. 

He felt the corners of her mouth curve upward against his. He made this first kiss short, immediately reattaching his lips to hers after a brief pause for his smile of his own. The second kiss didn’t last very long either, as he felt drawn to hold her. He trailed a kiss to her cheek and then pulled her in close to him, their cheeks brushing as they entered the embrace. He wanted her in his arms, to feel her warm body near his. She separated her knees so that he could scoot in closer still to her body, arms wrapped around her shoulders

”I’m so happy that you’re mine,” he said quietly, kissing her temple. She squeezed a little tighter around his midsection.

”Yours, huh?” She said, a lilt of laughter in her voice.

“Yeah,” he responded fondly. He ran his fingers across her neck, sweeping her hair to the side. She shivered a little at his touch.

“Callum, today has been so...beautiful. Thank you for doing all of this.” She’d become more serious, choosing her words carefully. They continued speaking softly, mouths near each other’s ears. 

“Well, I wanted our first real first date to be special,” he said.

”What do you call your first day in Xadia then, if not a date?” She asked.

”Oh. Was that—I didn’t realize at the time—“ She noticed him becoming twitchy as he fumbled for words, a change from the relaxation their embrace had brought both of them. She rubbed her thumb against his back in little circles.

”I mean, I showed you all of _my_ favorite things. I was going to buy you Moonberry Surprise and introduce you to my friends and family,” she started reassuringly, then paused. “I think we hugged for longer than this just getting down from the big tree.” She kissed his cheek. She hadn’t really thought of that day as a date at that point either, but in hindsight, it was the first time they spent time alone together, just having fun.

She’d realized that she wanted something more with him when he’d been sick from using Dark Magic after he’d followed her to help her free the downed dragon in Katolis. Even now she was still frustrated with his methods, but he had _saved_ her, risking his life and compromising on his beliefs to do so. As stupid and foolish as it had been, the fact that someone was willing to do all of that for her had been overwhelming while she watched over his ailing body, tossing and turning and wheezing. His dedication and loyalty and stupid, _stupid_ bravery made her shake her head, but it also made her heart swell. Then the thought of losing this sweet, stupid boy...who she finally had admitted to herself that she _loved_. She had very nearly begged him to stay with her that day, terrified (not for the the first time nor the last) of losing the opportunity to know him the way she did now.

But then, after he’d woken up, magical and self-confident again, if a little battered, there wasn’t a chance for her to voice her desire to be with him. Between Ezran leaving to go home, their dangerous trek across the Moonstone Path, and barely escaping Sol Regem, there had barely been a chance to even just enjoy his company after her realization, let alone open up about how she loved him. After all, sharing like that would be a big production for her. Feelings were difficult, especially ones that left her vulnerable. She knew that he’d be sweet to her whatever his feelings were, but that almost made it more intimidating. She couldn’t stand the thought of him feeling bad and being apologetic if it turned out that he didn’t feel the same way towards her, so she’d pushed it off.

Then, they’d finally had downtime as they explored the Moonshadow forest, and she felt a little more sure that her love would at least be somewhat reciprocated. She’d been happy to watch Callum’s fascination with all things Xadian. While he explored, she’d had a quiet smile the whole time as she watched him—her sweet, noble, human prince who she now realized she _loved—_ take it all in. She marveled at his wonder at all of the things that had just been a part of the scenery of her life. She admired his openness and his tenacity, barely hesitating to follow her up enormous trees and ready to drop his bag and dance with her at a moment’s notice to get into her home.

Not to mention the shock of warmth and pleasure she felt as they touched that day. He’d practically flown into her arms as they whirled down from the giant tree, holding her tightly to steady himself, but eventually becoming comfortable as they floated down. For the first time, she’d had time to pause and appreciate the warmth of his hands as they clutched at her and the feeling of him breathing against her. Later, as he dutifully and clumsily mimicked her steps to get into the Silvergrove, she marveled at the warmth of his hand again, and wished she could hold him close again without it being weird.

His lips against her temple again brought her out of her thoughts. The intoxicating warmth of their bodies together had built up until he couldn’t stand to not be kissing her. He reversed his path from earlier, now kissing from her temple down and around her jaw, up to her cheek, before finally kissing her lips again. He brought his arms down from her shoulders to wrap them around her waist, holding her tightly against him. She pushed back into his kiss, determined to prolong it. He met her with equal enthusiasm. She smiled a little into their kiss again. Sweet Callum was _not_ shy about kissing her.

He broke away for only a moment to breathe before reattaching his lips to hers, opening his mouth to let his tongue explore her lips. She opened her mouth to match him, and soon his tongue was caressing her lips, then her tongue. She sighed into their kiss, and wound her fingers into his hair. One of his hands had snaked up her back, resting on the nape of her neck, his thumb rubbing back forth against her spine. She shivered again and inched closer still into his embrace. The more he kissed her—and _he_ was, most assuredly, kissing _her—_ the more her stomach churned with butterflies. She let a hand migrate to his chest, where her hand crept past the fastenings on his shirt to the bare skin beneath, desperate to feel him closer to her. No matter how tightly he held her, it just wasn’t enough.

“Callum?” She asked, breaking their kiss, out of breath. He wasn’t easily deterred and brought his lips immediately to her cheek and then to her jaw.

”Hmm?” 

“Do you want to get more, uh...comfortable?” She gasped as he exhaled warm breath near her ear.

”Is that your sneaky way of getting me to take off my clothes?” He asked, clearly very emboldened and distracted from kissing her. He’d laughed a little as he spoke but it was only partially in jest. He’d kissed down her neck, all around her collar now.

”...maybe,” she admitted with a pleased sigh.

”You have to put your pajamas on, too.” He breathed, having kissed his way back up to her other ear. He landed a final kiss on her cheek and pulled away. She reached over for her bag on the other side of the log.

”Don’t you mean _your_ pajamas?” She asked, pulling out the comfortable shirt of his from the bag. He smiled, but she couldn’t say she wasn’t disappointed when Callum, ever the gallant gentleman, said: 

“You can go change in the tent,” he said as he stood up reaching for his bag on the other side of the campfire.

”Is that what you _want_ me to do?” She asked, attempting to flirt through the slight awkwardness. He froze, previously unaware that there was another option he’d failed to consider. He turned back to her, positively red with the possibilities.

”Rayla,” he squeaked, “are we on the same page about what’s going on tonight?” His eyes looked everywhere but into hers.

“Uh. I don’t know.” She shrugged, truly not sure what she’d been expecting once they got to camp. She’d just intended to tease him a little, not prompt this conversation. “I guess I thought we’d kiss and roll around a bit together,” she continued. She shrugged again.

“Oh. Ok, good. I just didn’t want you to think that this was about to be—that we were about to...” He stopped to evaluate her expression, which was mostly just amusement at his sputtering. “I just think you should go change in there! Because if you change out here, then I might see—and then, you know, we might—Not that I don’t want to! Eventually! But—“ She kissed him to stop the hole he was digging for himself. His outstretched, gesturing hands fell naturally to her hips. 

”Shh.” She said with an eye roll when she pulled away, shoving him lightly in the stomach. “I’ll go change in _Xadia_ if it means you’ll stop your stuttering.” She turned to go, but stopped abruptly again, peering back at him over her shoulder.

“But seriously. Don’t put on _too_ many clothes,” she said and vanished into the tent, drawing the flaps closed. She smiled to herself, hoping to have flustered him _just_ a little more.

She had.


	8. One Blanket

Having finished changing, Rayla gathered two pillows, encased in burgundy fabric, in her arms and drew the tent flap back again. She threw one pillow at Callum’s back. He looked up from putting his clothes back in his bag with a smile, comfortable now in a pair of pajama pants, and reached down to grab the pillow from where it had fallen.

“Here,” she said, about to toss the other one. He sandwiched the first pillow between his knees and caught the second easily when she tossed it. She turned back to the tent and grabbed two folded blankets. When she turned back to the fire, she was pleased to see that he’d read her mind and propped up the pillows against the log so they could lean back comfortably. He frowned as she brought the blankets over.

”Two?”

”Oh, yeah. If you didn’t want me to change in front you, we _definitely_ still need two blankets,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “Wouldn’t want to ruin your sense of propriety or anything.” His face fell, taking her seriously. 

“Rayla, I didn’t mean—” He walked toward her, arms open.

”Oh hush, I’m just kidding.” She threw one blanket at him, into his waiting arms, with an eye roll. “One’s for the ground, dummy.” Relief spread across his face. She opened up the blanket she held and spread it out, then plopped down against a pillow. She patted the spot next to her. He stood in the spot where he was going to sit and opened up the second blanket as he sat down, letting it fall over both of them. When the blanket settled, he stretched out and place a bare arm comfortably around Rayla’s shoulders. She leaned sideways against him.

“You know, it’s not about propriety,” he said after a moment.

”What?” She asked, not realizing he was still thinking about her poking fun at him. She raised her head to look at him.

”Earlier,” he explained. “With the tent. It’s not about manners or being proper or any of that.”

”Oh? I thought maybe everyone’s just uptight about that kind of thing in Katolis. I mean, I know humans definitely are, in general, but...” she poked at his side beneath the blanket, which she’d forgotten was bare. 

“Well, no, yeah. People are definitely uptight. Especially since we’re, uh, teenagers and all.” He blushed and averted his eyes away from her some. “But, I don’t really care about any of that.”

”No princely virtue to uphold?“ she smiled and laughed, glad to have another excuse to nudge his side beneath the blanket, an excuse for contact.

”No,” he laughed back.

”What then?” She let her hand linger on his side.

”I just...I want everything to be perfect, or at least, special...and I don’t want to rush,” he explained. “I love you too much to not stop to enjoy every moment.”

“Okay?” She questioned. He struggled for a moment to find the words to explain further.

“Our first—errr—“ She glared at him over mentioning the kiss that must not be named. “—second kiss was just so...amazing and memorable and everything that I’d been missing in my life.” One corner of his mouth turned upwards in a smile, realizing how sentimental he must sound, preparing to be teased about it. “I want everything to be like that. I want to enjoy all of it and not rush through because we can’t wait to...” He trailed off, pink-cheeked.

”Can’t wait for what exactly?” She raised her eyebrows and nudged him in jest again. He nudged back, looking down shyly. She forced herself to be more serious. “I understand, and it’s fine Callum. I mean you didn’t think I was ready for all that yet anyway, did you?” 

“I didn’t want to assume anything,” he answered. She hadn’t expected such a serious, heartfelt answer to what had mostly been a rhetorical question. But, this was Callum after all. Sweet, considerate Callum. She held the hand that was draped over her shoulder.   
  
“Well, I’m not. I love you, Callum, and I love _this..._ ” She squeezed his hand for emphasis. He looked up to exchange smiles with her. “But I’m not in a hurry either. I just...like to flirt with you and make you blush, is all,” she said,”...and I like thinking about what we could do. What we will do.”   
  
“Oh, uh, m-me too, but—“ He started nervously, eyes having fallen from her face with embarrassment.

”See, that’s the flirting and making you blush part,” she turned and kissed his cheek before settling down to lean against his shoulder. It was true that she wasn’t ready to do _everything_ with him yet, but she did enjoy the closeness of their bodies and was curious about the feelings it stirred in her. She also didn’t want him to feel like he had to do anything with her just because she wanted to, though. She was hesitant now about letting him know the extent to which she wanted him at any given moment. The feeling had been...significant...all day.

“It’s true though,” she whispered, letting her guard down a little further, referring to her less-than-pure thoughts.

“Rayla, I think about that too. Of course I do.” He pressed his cheek against the top of her head. His voice was just as soft as hers had been. He then kissed her head. She looked up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder. 

He leaned toward her, and she sat up slightly to meet him for a kiss. He guided her to recline against the pillows as their lips met, turning his body to lean over her as they kissed. His fingers lightly touched the side of her face. She kissed him back, letting him lead.

It was a long kiss, and he spent a lot of it paying attention to her bottom lip, pressing it between his lips, running his tongue across it. When he broke away from her, and opened his eyes, he found her staring back at him, wide-eyed. Her cheeks were flushed, though she didn’t seem embarrassed.

“Wow,” she said, looking up at him earnestly. “ _That’s_ taking it slow?” A glimmer of sarcasm returned. It wasn’t like they’d made out every day since the Midnight Desert, so there was still an exciting, shiny, newness to their kissing. He smiled and leaned back over her to kiss her again. Her hands found his bare shoulders, and the hand that he wasn’t leaning against moved to grasp at her waist, covered in the deep yellow fabric of his pajamas.

This time she pushed back at his tongue with her own until he conceded to her exploring his mouth. Her hands moved up to hold his cheeks, refusing to let him pull away from their kiss. Mid-kiss, she pushed her self up to sit and he followed, resealing their lips to each other’s when they briefly lost contact. She pushed him backward, now laying parallel to the log, and his head landed in the grass off the edge of their blankets, which were now tangled around them. She settled her body on top of his, kissing him all the while, one knee settled between his and hands in the grass on either side of his head. He brushed away stray pieces of hair that had fallen into her face, then wrapped his arms around her waist as they kissed. She bit his lip lightly, and he chuckled against her mouth. She kissed down his cheek to his ear, then nipped there as well. He sighed loudly in pleasure as she continued to kiss down his neck.

”Oh, that was _cute_ ,” she said quietly near his ear, amused. He sighed again at her warm breath in his ear. 

“I aim to please,” he retorted with a laugh. As if to emphasize this statement, he kissed her again. Meeting no resistance from Rayla, it was easy for him to switch their positions again too. He rolled her to her back, marveling at how light and willing to be moved she was. He also marveled at his newfound awareness that Rayla, strong and athletic and independent, was comfortable enough with him to let him touch and move her body, basically at will.

He leaned over her again, and she let her fingers trail down against his ribs this time. She could barely think, consumed by the sensation and rhythm of his kisses, shorter now, but somehow more fervent. He brought his fingers up to tuck hair behind her ear again. His hand lingered near her face, grazing her ear, and her cheek, and her chin, and finally tracing down her neck. He lifted his hand, then, to bring it back safely to her waist. She rotated to lay on her side, bringing their bodies closer together, her arm wrapped around him. 

“You’re so warm,” she commented between kisses, pressing her hand into the hot, smooth flesh of his back. He slowed their kisses. They paused to catch their breath, facing each other, still laying on their sides. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

”I really, really love you, Rayla,” he said with a huge grin. She smiled back.

”I love you too, sweet prince,” she responded with a chuckle. He leaned his forehead against hers, then reached over to adjust their tangled mess of a blanket over them. She pressed her fingers into the soft flesh of his side, one at a time. 

“That tickles,” he said with a quiet smile. She continued to poke. “Do you really want to start that, _sweetheart_?” He smirked, reviving their pet name search, and brought a hand to where her waist had been so ticklish earlier in the day.

”Do _you_?“ She asked. “Highly trained, ‘back-flipping, tree-climbing, sword-stabbing elven warrior,’ remember? I think I might win this fight.” She quoted him and leaned up on an elbow, readying herself to spring up if he didn’t concede.

”Ok, ok, ok,” he said picking up his hand from her side and matching her posture, up on an elbow. “I’ll just have to wait until you’re not expecting it,” he shrugged with a mischievous glimmer in his eye.

”Good luck with that,” she laughed, and sat back against the pillow, sitting up again, tucking her legs under her, ankles stacked to the side. He pulled himself up and kissed her check, throwing an arm over her shoulder again. She scooted closer to him, and reciprocated the quick kiss. “Well, _sweetheart,_ do you have anything else up your sleeve this evening?”

”Mmm...not really. I have more snacks if you want, but otherwise, it’s just you and me,” he squeezed her shoulder, then reached behind to grab his bag, pulling out a small sack of food and offering it to her.

”I’m not hungry.“

”I’m not really either,” he shrugged, and resealed the sack. “This is going to be...cheesy. But, spending all this time together makes me feel kind of...full up already? I think it’s the butterflies.” He smiled a lovesick grin at her, as he replaced his arm around her shoulders. 

“You’re right. That is pretty cheesy,” she tucked her head down to rest on his shoulder.

“I thought for sure they’d go away after I told you how I felt about you,” he continued, “I can’t believe that I was so nervous to tell you that I loved you before...ya know.”

”I mean, if nervous is what you want to be, that can be arranged,” she chuckled, and turned to kiss the crook of his neck. He turned and kissed her temple. “I almost told you that I loved you when you were sick.”

”Is that why you acted so weird when I woke up? Why didn’t you just tell me?” He asked, resting his cheek against her head again.

”Once you were better, I was worried that you wouldn’t feel the same way, so then when you...in the desert...” She was tugging on her hair again, rebraiding what had unraveled as they’d made out.

”Ah, ah, ah...I thought we were never going to mention that again?” He smirked.

”Yeah, yeah, temporary timeout.” He was a little surprised at her willingness to discuss that night. “Anyway, I thought that you felt the same way when you came after me in the desert, so when you didn’t want to kiss me—“ She trailed off, a little disappointment still in her voice.

”Whoa, no.” He picked up his head, alarmed at her clearly continued sadness over their less-than-stellar first kiss. “I didn’t _not_ want to kiss you. Is that what you’ve thought this whole time?”

”Well, yeah,” she said. She kept her head on his shoulder, even though she’d felt him pick his up, not wanting him to see her frown.

”I very much liked kissing you and wanted to. I just didn’t want you to think that was my... _goal_ when I followed you. I just...wanted you to feel better.” He rubbed his thumb against her shoulder. He voice got smaller as he spoke.

”Didn’t go so well,” she scoffed.

”Yeah, well,” he said. “It all worked out kind of ok, I think.” He tapped against her shoulder, and she looked up to see his wide, reassuring smile. She leaned up for another quick kiss. “I’m sorry that you thought that I didn’t want you. Did you think I just...realized in the desert that day, then?”

”Yeah,” She started. “I mean, I thought that you might like me a little before you kissed me. We _had_ been kind of...touchy-feely since we crossed into Xadia, but...” They were looking at each other now. She smiled fondly.

”Rayla, I’ve been falling in love with you since the day we met.” He touched her cheek. “How could I not love you? You’re just...incredible, and beautiful, and so _good_.”   
  
“I feel really...lucky that you love me. You’ve risked so much for me. I’ve never met _anyone_ as open and loving and dedicated as you are, Callum.” She blushed a little at telling him all of the wonderful things about him that had preoccupied her all day. “Even before, you always cared so much about how I was feeling. Sometimes I still can’t believe how thoughtful and sweet and compassionate you are.”

”I love you, Rayla,” he leaned their foreheads together again.

”I love you, too. So much.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned to lean across his body to hug him close. He wrapped his arms around her, caressing her back comfortingly. He felt her relax in his arms, leaning her weight against him fully, and he turned his head to bury his nose in her hair.

”I’m not really tired yet, but do you want to lay down?” He asked, wanting to settle in and just hold her close for a while.

”Ok,” she said, releasing her grasp and helping him rearrange the pillows. He laid down on his back and she settled herself against his side, his arm around her back. She stretched an arm across his body, resting her hand on his hip and her head on his chest. “I’m not going to be able to sleep without you now,” she giggled, only really halfway joking. 

“Oh no, what a terrible problem to have,” he said facetiously.

”I think that sleeping in the same bed might raise some uptight human eyebrows,” she laughed. 

“Mmmm...probably. Good thing you’re a master of stealth,” he extended arm above their heads, gesturing dramatically. When he lowered his arm, he squeezed her tighter.

“This is definitely worth the risk of getting caught,” she said, squeezing him back. She yawned. “You got me up too early today.” 

“It was nine o’clock!” He laughed. “You can sleep. I want to snuggle anyway.” She smiled to herself and wiggled in closer still.

”Snuggle away, then.” She closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by his heartbeat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was meant to be the last chapter, but I’m thinking about writing an epilogue as they head back to the castle in the morning. We’ll see! Hope you enjoyed!


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